Currently, social networks capture the majority of Internet users. Including animated gifs in your content is a fun and innovative way for your brand to connect with its audience.
Gifs are image files that are compressed so that they show movement over and over again. It can also be said that they are a small portion of a repeating video.
Animations can not only be used on social networks, but they have also become an important part of Interface Design (UI) and email marketing campaigns. These are not something new, but they have resurfaced again because they provide many benefits to both users and brands, since they are extremely attractive and entertain people.
In addition, they are very versatile, allowing you to communicate ideas more precisely, give instructions or share a state of mind.
Tips for optimizing GIFs:
- The duration of a Gif should be between 6 and 10 seconds but you should reduce the speed of those that contain tutorials.
- You have the possibility to cut and customize your Gifs either through Photoshop or other video or image editing software.
- Do not include many images in your Gifs, try to keep them simple and attractive.
- Keep in mind the sizes accepted by the different platforms for your Gifs.
- As an example, Twitter accepts a size of 3 MB for Gif files in tweets, Facebook allows uploading images of up to 500 Kb, in Google+ it is advisable that they have about 490 by 370 pixels for the content, although they are allowed to cover larger images. So, the size of your animated Gif does not become an impediment when sharing it.
How can you use Gifs in your campaigns?
1. To showcase and incorporate your brand’s offerings.
You can create gifs to synchronize with your campaigns’ launch or promote your products or offers.
2. To reuse your best content and capture a larger audience
You can convert your best content, whether it is the images of your best products, a video of a company event, or a demonstration in a Gif, in order to exhibit it to another type of audience and captivate them in that way.
3. To tell a story
An image is worth a thousand words and an animated Gif will allow you to show your followers why they should choose your brand or how you have transformed your company over time.
4. To represent an idea
A Gif in a post on a social network will be just as useful as an infographic to represent an idea and to show data in an entertaining and easy-to-understand way.
5. To entertain your followers
When you are on the social network you must interact with others and constantly talk about your offers or your company is not the best strategy to bond. By including entertaining animated Gifs, you will increase the number of times your content is shared, allowing other users to know your brand.
6. To teach your readers something
Create educational and entertaining animated Gifs that explain how your products are used or teach you how to do certain things (for example, if you sell ice cream you can show how to quickly prepare some desserts that contain them). This will also increase the number of times users share your content and allow you to show the value of your products or services.
7. To create a call to action
Animated Gifs can be very useful when creating a call to action. These can lead the user to a specific action without being annoying or blocking the view. They are also a great opportunity for you to try something new with your leads.
Start taking advantage of the opportunity that animations offer you and include them in your marketing campaigns, be it through social networks, as an email marketing tool or on your own website.
